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30 October 2013, Today, 31 unemployed Johannesburg youth will graduate from the Immersion Training Strategy: Targeting Young Marginalised Youth (ITS TYME) programme, a 20 week long incubator style entrepreneurship skills programme for out of school youth between the ages of 18 and 35. The project also includes traditional workplace readiness skills, life skills, financial literacy and banking and saving. The ITS TYME Programme is made possible by generous funding from Absa.

The graduates from the Hillbrow and Alexandra ITS TYME Programmes will receive their certificates of completion during a certification ceremony held in Alexandra today. In total 17 ITS TYME programmes have been facilitated this year, in Gauteng, Western Cape, North West and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

During the programme students are introduced to social innovation, business case studies and relevant guest speakers, and are exposed to other young and successful entrepreneurs, while running their own businesses, either in teams or as sole proprietors. Research has shown that entrepreneurs who team up in groups of two or more are more likely to sustain their business in the long run.

Some of the types of businesses that the graduating students have started are t-shirt printing, fruit and vegetables, cleaning materials, fast food and customized clocks. The company that performed the best during the programme was Spotless Hygiene, a cleaning material company. They managed to generate a net profit of approximately R3500 during the first few weeks of business.

“I am very proud of this group of graduates. All of the businesses are performing well and there is no reason why the businesses should not continue now that the programme is complete. Over 300 youth will have completed this programme, in 2013, which is also being run in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Junior Achievement Africa plans to reach 4 050 unemployed youth through the ITS TYME Programme over three years,” said Bonga Khumalo, National Programme Coordinator for Junior Achievement South Africa.

After completing the ITS TYME Programme, the graduates receive mentoring support for a period of six months after the programme completion, ensuring that they receive as much support as possible. The programme has proved to be extremely effective, with a high percentage of programme graduates being actively engaged in the economy upon completion of the programme.

Since January 2013, hundreds of high-school learners from schools across the country have participated in Junior Achievement South Africa’s (JASA) Mini Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Academy Programmes gaining access to skills on how to manage their own small businesses. In September, these initiatives culminated in the Junior Innovators awards ceremony at Investec recognising learners who have demonstrated promising entrepreneurial potential.

The Junior Innovators Competition, now in its second (2nd) year was jointly developed by Investec and JASA with the aim of stimulating entrepreneurial skills and thinking among learners in grades 10 and 11.

Learners who participated in any Junior Achievement Mini Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Academy Programmes were invited to apply for the Junior Innovators Competition, 40 of whom were then selected on the basis of their business idea to participate in the week-long entrepreneurship training workshop at Investec in Johannesburg. During the final workshop, mentors, all JASA alumni, played a role in helping leaners refine their business ideas by exposing them to the basics of business, microeconomics, business ethics and ways of improving their entrepreneurial potential.

The competition gave learners an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned through JASA’s programmes as well as the rigorous entrepreneurship training workshop hosted by Investec.

Linda McClure noted, “The Junior Innovators Competition is a fantastic opportunity for learners who have participated in a Junior Achievement Programme. The intensive four-day workshop exposes learners to various aspects of entrepreneurship and the structure of the competition ensures that learners have to work in teams as well as individually. The experience for the learners is invaluable and great appreciation goes to Investec for making this possible.”

Finalists were judged based on a number of attributes. These relate to their products as well as their business acumen, including their willingness to take risks, and their resilience, passion and confidence about their business idea. With this year’s theme being innovation, judges also took into account the quality of innovation and knowledge of a respective industry and target market. The learner who developed the most innovative business idea and was selected as the winner of the competition received R60 000 towards their tertiary study at a university of their choice.

Setlogane Manchidi, head of Investec Corporate Social Investment (CSI), believes the Junior Innovators Competition is an ideal fit with Investec’s philosophy in this area as it is underpinned by the two strategic pillars of education and entrepreneurship. Commenting on this year’s competition, Mr Manchidi says: “Our focus on entrepreneurship is deliberate. At Investec, we believe that by developing a generation of entrepreneurs we will be able to create opportunities for employment, wealth creation and socio-economic growth. Through the Junior Innovators Competition, we are able to identify entrepreneurial talent and provide an opportunity for these individuals to grow into some of South Africa’s successful future business leaders.”

The winner of the Junior Innovators Competition was announced at a gala dinner hosted at Investec on Thursday 26 September 2013. Kholofelo Ramalepe from Motse Maria Secondary School in Limpopo walked away with 1st prize for her innovative melodical fishing rod – a fishing rod with a water proof motion sensor. The rod will sense fish in close proximity to the rod, guaranteeing both commercial and subsistence fishermen with results. Kholofelo completed her Mini Enterprise Programme, funded by MasterCard earlier this year. 2nd place went to Iqbaal Osman’s innovative three-in-one stapler, punch and staple remover, Iqbaal studies at Merebank Secondary School in KZN, Iqbaal attended a Mini Enterprise Programme funded by Federal Mogul. Lonwabo Ncanda from Princess High School in Johannesburg was awarded 3rd place, he devised an online music store which will create a platform for young and upcoming musicians and producers, he completed a Mini Enterprise Programme funded by Citi.

These follow appropriately from the high standard set by the 2012 finalists and particularly Junior Innovator competition finalist, Keith Mbaso from Eqinisweni Secondary school, who went on, as part of a team to win the SA HP Global Social Innovation Relay with the idea of converting kinetic energy from a playground to power households near the playground and, in so doing, assist the community.

45 of the 50 participating Gauteng schools completed the survey and the results were phenomenal.

The Environmental Entrepreneurs Programme was overwhelmingly successful and the school educators and learners welcomed and greatly enjoyed it. The programme is aligned to the school curriculum which ensured support and engagement of the educators.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS 2012/2013

GAUTENG

Total schools in 2012 and 2013: 50

Total schools surveyed: 45

Summary of results:

The Environmental Entrepreneurs Programme was overwhelmingly successful and the school educators and learners welcomed and greatly enjoyed it. The programme is aligned to the school curriculum which ensured support and engagement of the educators.

The results of the survey indicate that there has been a definite increase among the educators and learners in awareness of the need to keep the environment clean, save energy and not pollute. Results also indicate that learners have changed their behaviour and taken action to ensure that they do keep their environment clean.

When asked if the programme had an effect on how the educators approach environmental issues in their teaching, all but 2 of the schools surveyed reported that the teachers’ insight, approach and personal awareness of environmental issues increased. In addition, all the schools indicated that the programme had an impact on the environment around the school with some schools starting to clean their own school grounds and other schools cleaning the environment around the school.

The principals and educators also reported that the learners’ behaviour had changed as a result of their participation in the programme. Schools that are involved with recycling projects saw learners become much more active and participating more, taking responsibility in sorting recycling material at school. Most schools indicated that the learners started keeping their environment cleaner and making use of bins provided.

Specifically, the principal at Mveledzo Primary School in Mamelodi reported that “Educators encourage learners now to pick up the papers and litter and keep the school grounds clean. The learners eagerly participate as they enjoyed the programme so much.” This statement was made in August 2013 and the programme was implemented at Mveledzo in May 2012. The principal at Sikanyisele Primary School said, “This programme solved most of our littering problems as learners are willing to pick up the litter on the school grounds”. Ithute Primary School reported “Our school is now free of litter… they put rubbish in the bin provided.”

Schools that started their own recycling programmes reported that the Environmental Entrepreneurs Programme was the impetus for doing that. Some schools began collecting plastic bottles, cans and papers for recycling. Moretele Primary School entered a competition with ABI and received mobile bins from the Department of Environmental Affairs. Malvern Primary School started collect-a-can and Ithute Primary School began collecting recycling materials for selling.

All schools involved highly recommend the continuation of the programme in their schools. There were many requests for the programme to continue. Some schools preferred that the grade 7’s attend the programme, while most requested for learners to receive the programme in grade 6 and 7 to enforce the learning. Many schools indicated the benefit of the programme to the educators and requested more involvement of the educators in terms of presenting workshops to them as well.

Not only were the learners learning about environmental issues but other skills were developed through our methodology. The learners improved their communication skills which increased their self-esteem and self-confidence. Creativity was encouraged through the practical activities and the learners greatly improved their ability to express themselves. Social skills were developed as the learners had to work together in groups to share ideas, make plans, delegate tasks, share materials and deliver products.

The facilitators on the programme also witnessed bonding between educators and learners. Many educators reported that the programme was very insightful, not only for the content, but also for learning different methods of teaching and seeing how group work can be effective as a teaching methodology.

There is no question that the Environmental Entrepreneurs Programme was very well received and had much impact on many levels with the learners and the educators.

The complete evaluation report with answers to specific survey questions is available upon request.

Other Notable Quotes:

Legora Primary School, Principal Mohlamme Mathebe: “The children no longer get into the flower gardens (damaging the plants) and they do not litter as they used to. I also noticed that the taps are not dripping. It would be great if this programme could be filmed so that all the children could see the demonstrations”.

Mahlasedi Primary School, Principal Joe Suman: “The programme enhanced the school curriculum as it was incorporated in arts and culture, natural science as well as social science”.

Meetse A Bophelo Primary School, Principal Patrick Sikhumbana and HOD Maphutu Rammutla: “Let JASA bring more programmes … We really love the programme, they must come back again. It was excellent”.

Mononong Primary School, Principal Mrs Mbehlele and HOD Mr Koka: “Our experience with JASA and the facilitators was excellent because of the impact it has on the behaviour and responsibility taken for the environment.”

Morakoma Primary School, Principal MT Letepe and HOD D Legodi: “I recommend that JASA start with our school beginning next year so that the learners can use that knowledge throughout the year.”

Chief Lithuli Primary School, HOD Sandra Taby and Educator Thandi Ntuli: “The programme was helpful in changing behaviour towards the environment at school and at homes”.

Kgalema Primary School, Deputy Principal Anna Mokone: “All schools must participate so that we have one voice on keeping our environment clean and protected. The Eco-warrior programme is a very vital program that should continuously assist and advice school on matters relating to the environment.”

Ditau Primary School Principal Rosta Masudubele and HOD Mr Gregory Kokong: “….well monitored programme, so well organised… continuation of this programme would not only benefit learners but also the stakeholders of the school at large.”

Selpe Thema Primary School: “It was one of the most interesting and enjoyable programmes the learners ever had.”

Usindiso Primary School: “There are environmental issues that we tend to ignore; this programme made us aware of them. Please include grade 5’s as it will lay a good foundation for their natural and social science subjects and skills.”

Vukanzenzele Primary School, HOD Angel Mbanjwa and Co-facilitator Bongani Nkosi: “This is an edu-taining programme – educating and entertaining! We recommend this campaign to all learners in all school.”

JASA in partnership with Investec Bank host the annual Junior Innovators Competition, a competition which aims to reward JASA’s top young entrepreneurs with an intensive four day entrepreneurship workshop and the opportunity to win a R60 000 bursary. This is the second year that the Junior Innovators Competition will take place on 22nd – 27th September 2013. The competition is open to anyone that has participated in a high school Junior Achievement Programme during 2013. For the first round of the competition, the learners had to submit an innovative business concept. Their innovation could be around the product, process or marketing. JASA received more than 200 applications from across the country, of which 40 have been selected to move on to the next round. This round will take place between 22nd and 27th September when the finalists will travel to Johannesburg and spend four days refining their concepts into a five minute presentation. Over the four days the learners will attend workshops on marketing, presentation skills, product costing, innovation and much more. They will also be exposed to various other successful entrepreneurs who will engage with the finalists about their experiences as an entrepreneur.
Eight Junior Achievement South Africa Alumni will be on hand to mentor the learners, whilst also evaluating the learners ability to work in teams and their leadership potential.
Utilising all of the skills they have learnt over the week, learners will then present their concept to a panel of judges. The judges scores together with their mentors scores and a team score awarded for team activities will identify the top ten. The top ten will present their concepts to another panel of judges who will select the best presentation. The winner of the competition will be awarded the R60 000 bursary during a gala dinner that will be held on 26th September 2013.
“This is the second year that we are hosting the Junior Innovators Competition in partnership with Investec Bank. This year the workshop includes even more speakers and activities, and promises to be more successful than last years competition,” noted Linda McClure, Managing Director of Junior Achievement South Africa.
To follow the competition, keep an eye on #JuniorInnovators on Twitter or follow @JASouthAfrica.

The Youth Enterprise Development (YED) Programme, funded by the DG Murray Trust, and the ITS TYME Programme, funded by Absa, were launched by Junior Achievement South Africa last year, to try to alleviate the high rate of youth unemployment in South Africa. Both programmes focus on teaching unemployed youth between the ages of 18 and 35 how to start and run their own sustainable businesses.

Since the start of the YED Programme midway through 2012, JASA has carefully monitored and mentored the small business owners that have completed the programme. During the mentorship phase, JASA has seen some astounding outcomes of the programme, through the successful, sustainable businesses that have flourished in the past six months. We have decided to feature two of the many successful businesses that have resulted from the out of school programmes.

Nolubabalo Madudela, 33

Nolubabalo was already a business owner when she began the Youth Enterprise Development Programme, funded by the DG Murray Trust, at the NYDA office in Cape Town in August 2012. She started selling fish and chips from her house in 2007 when she couldn’t find a job, but joined the programme because she wanted to learn how to grow her business into a sustainable, functional enterprise.

During the programme she realised that she needed to include additional products to ensure that she had enough of a selection to grow her target market and decided to add fat cakes to her menu, which increased the demand for her products. Nolubabalo had one stall when she started the programme, but the demand for her products has grown so much in the past six months, that she has added a second stall at a busy location. Nolubabalo’s business NS Mini Tuckshop also employs three people; two to assist with the preparation of the food and an additional lady to run the new stall. Nolubabalo notes that she has experienced some challenges but that her ability to adapt and learn has helped her create a successful, sustainable business.

Sarah Dube, 33

Sarah Dube started her small health food business, called Go Vegan, during the Youth Enterprise Development Programme, funded by the DG Murray Trust, at the NYDA office in Cape Town in August 2012. She had previously tried her hand at selling whole-wheat fat cakes but did not have the know how to further develop her business. During the programme, Go Vegan began by selling pies and samoosas, on foot, in areas with heavy foot traffic.

Sarah’s business has grown dramatically in the past six months and she has added a variety of muffins, cakes, sesame bars and health cakes to her menu. Go Vegan not only has a strong individual customer base but Sarah is now supplying a bed and breakfast establishment, a hair salon and three colleges with baked goods. Sarah is pleased with her progress thus far and she has big dreams for Go Vegan. Sarah currently has no transport and she has to carry her stock as she delivers to her customers. Her next goal is to open her own shop and employ someone to help her bake and prepare her orders for the next day.

Junior Achievement South Africa is proud to announce that TWO of our successful alumni have been included in this years Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans edition.
This is the eighth year that Mail & Guardian have searched for 200 young, inspiring South Africans to feature. “Half-a-dozen researchers independently scour the country for three months searching for interesting young people doing amazing things. We also take our readers’ nominations—more than 1 200 came through this year—and sift through them for the best of the bunch. Our editorial staff and our most reliable sources send in their recommendations. Then we whittle down our long list into a short list and ultimately into a final list of young people who then are profiled by a team of writers and presented across our platforms. Each year we find 200 young people, aged 35 and under, who were born here or have made South Africa their home, and who are full of talent, dreams and drive,” noted Tanya Pampalone, Executive Editor, 200 Young South Africans.

You may have seen Ntuthuko’s story in various publications last year. He was selected as one of our Faces of JASA 2012. Ntuthuko completed his JASA programme in 1997 and the programme sparked his interest in entrepreneurship, which eventually lead to him starting his own panel beating shop. Ntuthuko is still a loyal follower of JASA and he is always first in line to give back to the organisation by offering to share his story and provide field trips to his workshop to learners and learners currently on JASA programmes.

Happy Khambule is also a strong supporter of Junior Achievement South Africa. After completing the Mini Enterprise Programme in 2006, Happy went on to complete the Banks in Action and Success Skills programmes in 2007 and JA Titan in 2008. Happy went on to be elected as Financial Manager of the JASA Youth Council in 2008. Since then, Happy has always been willing to assist JASA with mentoring and events. Most recently Happy gave up five days from his busy schedule to mentor a group of five learners during the Investec Junior Innovators Competition. Happy is another one of Junior Achievement South Africa’s most promising alumni.

Ntuthuko Shezi
If you need to catch a flight from OR Tambo airport and your car has a dent, or a cracked windscreen, Scratch Mobile will fix it for you while you are away. Scratch Mobile is the brainchild of 32-year-old Ntuthuko Shezi, whose passion for business stemmed from a desire to change his family’s financial situation. He grew up in rural Ndwedwe in KwaZulu-Natal, with a single mother, a teacher who sold sweets, fish and vetkoek for extra money at the school she worked at, and Shezi would often help her. His grandparents kept cows for milk and grew their own fruit and vegetables. The family had no electricity. These difficulties have led to Shezi’s dream of being a future Ndwedwe ward councillor. When he left his job in management consulting he fortuitously recognised a gap in the panel-beating industry. Even through he did not have a clue about panel beating, his degree in engineering from the University of Cape Town made it easier for him to demystify in his head a subject many see as rocket science. His history in management alerted him to the fact that the industry was known for offering little compassion and care to customers and he wanted to change this and give customers who needed their cars fixed an option that was convenient for them and put their needs first. Scratch Mobile, which does panel beating, spray painting and auto glass repairs and replacements, is the first known business of its kind in the world and Shezi is looking to expand, as its success has been exceptional. The business fixes between 170 and 200 cars every month and has a turnover of a few million a year. His aim is to be a game-changer, not just to do things the way they have been done for a long time. — Ilham Rawoot

Happy Khambule

Happy Khambule loves being part of a collective. It’s his “we” attitude that makes him a British Council Global Changemaker and International Climate Champion. Khambule, a climate-change activist with a law degree, dreamt in early childhood of being president. Now he not only aspires to shape South Africa’s environmental policies but also to effect real change within communities, working with schools and the youth to create awareness of climate change. Although he has big ambitions he doesn’t allow them to overshadow his passions. The work he does as Gauteng co-ordinator of Project 90 x 2030 allows him to strike the right balance between the two. The project challenges society to change the way it lives in order to preserve the environment. The aim is to reduce our carbon footprint by 90% by the year 2030. Khambule’s philosophy is that “every generation equips the next generation with knowledge”. It is his job to get schools in the province to change their attitude towards the environment by setting up green clubs and educating pupils about sustainable behaviours. In light of his involvement with Ashoka Youth Ventures, a global project that gets young people thinking about how to address social issues, it is only natural that the work he does focuses so strongly on change. But getting people to change has its own challenges. To keep the youth interested and involved in climate change Khambule and his team continually have to think of more innovative and exciting campaigns using social media and whatever other tools are available. His mom has always told him to enjoy whatever it is that he does. Khambule takes that advice further. He loves what he does — working with people and making change happen. “When you see change happen and it has come about from a collective effort that is perfect.” — Caroline Cowan

Junior Achievement South Africa and Absa have joined forces to combat South Africa’s soaring youth unemployment figures by equipping young, aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills and experience needed to build sustainable, successful businesses.

JOHANNESBURG, APR 19, 2013 – Junior Achievement South Africa (JASA) launched their Immersion Training Strategy: Targeting Young Marginalised Youth (ITS TYME) programme in January this year. Absa has generously committed to funding the ITS TYME programmes in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia – reaching 4,050 unemployed youth from across the African continent over three years.

The ITS TYME programme is an intensive three to four month programme during which students meet once or twice a week for three hours. ITS TYME is an incubator style entrepreneurship skills programme for out of school youth between the ages of 18 and 35 and is aimed at addressing the vast unemployment challenge facing young people in South Africa. The project also includes traditional workplace readiness skills, life skills, financial literacy and banking and saving.

All of JASA’s programmes involve real hands-on, experiential learning. Participants form small businesses, elect managers, complete market research to determine a product or service that will sell in their community, manufacture the product and finally share in the profits. In so doing, they learn how to start and run their own business in a practical way. The ITS TYME programme follows the same methodology, ensuring that students experience hands-on learning. “JASA’s 33 years’ of experience running experiential programmes in the in-school market have provided a strong foundation in entrepreneurial education from which to expand into the out of school market.” Noted Linda McClure, JASA’s Managing Director.

ITS TYME programmes are already underway in Eersterus, Ivory Park, Kagiso, Khutsong, Heidelburg, Soweto and Thokoza and programmes are also planned in Tembisa, Rustenburg and Duduza in the near future. Interest in the programme has been excellent in some areas, for example, in Khutsong there are already 45 students attending the programme and each week there are additional students wanting to join.

In total there are 17 ITS TYME programmes planned for the year, predominantly in Gauteng. Provision has also been made to run programmes in the Western Cape and North West Provinces. The programme intends to reach 600 unemployed youth this year and JASA has partnered with several youth organisations including Siyafunda CTC, Khulisa Social Services, National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), Youth Making a Difference (YMAD), Seed Container Park (SECOPA) and the Kagiso Multipurpose Community Centre (MCC) to ensure that we reach this goal. These organisations are in regular contact with unemployed youth throughout the country and these partnerships will ensure that the ITS TYME programme reaches the youth that have the greatest need.

“Although the out of school market is a challenging market in which to work, the need for this programme most definitely outweighs the risk. Junior Achievement’s main purpose is to shape young entrepreneurs and to nurture entrepreneurial thinking, and we believe we are perfectly positioned to make a positive impact on the lives of unemployed youth in South Africa.” Concluded Linda McClure.